A Slashdot posting pointed to Bashar Abdullah's blog entry about Kuwait blocking YouTube. Besides reporting on the block, Mr. Abdullah also gives a good and humorous commentary on how most of the popular Web sites for Kuwaitis could be deemed in one way or another eligible for being blocked.

The following is Mr. Abdullah's "brief translation" of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Communications letter's main text: Subject: Blocking an offensive website to Holy Quran and Holy Prophet Reference to the above mentioned subject, and in tribute to the book of God and the holy profit, and in compliance to law order # 17 …, which states on banning porn sites and site offensive to the ethics and Islamic regulations, and since there is a site that sings the Holy Quran, God Forbid, and publishes offensive photos of the holy prophet by searching for “Quran singed and composed” in the below mentioned website, therefore you are requested to act upon and block this site immediately. 1- YouTube.com

There is an update to the YouTube block order matter. The government is freezing the block, pending further discussion. It appears that the block order was sent by an MoC department head to Kuwaiti ISPs had bypassed the Communications minister. <Whoops!>

Al-Jarida Arabic news site provide some more info. (Google Translate gives a better English translation for this article than Windows Live Translator. The WLT doesn't pick up that "يوتيوب" is an Arabic transliteration of "You Tube". Not surprising Google's translator software recognised Google's YouTube in Arabic. <wink>)

J.D. Abolins